Ongoing History of New Music

Ongoing History Daily: The story of the Foos’ “Learn to Fly”

With the release of his best-selling memoir, The Storyteller, Dave Grohl had plenty of stories to tell as he did the book tour. One of them had to do with the lyrics of the song “Learn to Fly” from their third album, There is Nothing Left to Lose. What’s it really all about? What was Dave trying to say?

Sorry to break it to you, but it’s pretty obvious. At one point, he wanted to become a pilot. That’s it. Others have interpreted the lyrics to have something to do with being inspired and wanting to live life to its fullest.

Nope. Sometimes a songwriter is being completely straightforward with what they’re trying to say. But the mark of a good song is that the lyrics can be interpreted in many different personal ways. It all depends on who’s listening.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39671 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.